Stewart Copeland
Stewart Copeland | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Stewart Armstrong Copeland |
Also known as | Klark Kent |
Born | Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. | July 16, 1952
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1974–present |
Member of | |
Formerly of | |
Website | stewartcopeland |
Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Police, he played drums with English rock band Curved Air from 1975 to 1976. As a composer, his work includes the films Wall Street (1987), Men at Work (1990), Good Burger (1997), and We Are Your Friends (2015); the television shows The Equalizer (1985–1989), The Amanda Show (1999–2002), and Dead Like Me (2003–2004); and video games such as the Spyro series (1998–present) and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (2001). He has also written various pieces of ballet, opera, and orchestral music.
According to
Early life
Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 16, 1952,[6][7] the youngest of four children of Scottish archaeologist Lorraine Copeland (née Adie; 1921–2013) and American CIA officer Miles Copeland Jr. (1916–1991). His mother was born in Edinburgh, while his father was from Alabama. His father was, according to his own 1989 biography[8] and files released by the CIA in 2008,[9] a founding member of the OSS and the CIA.
The family moved to
Career
Curved Air (1975–1976)
Returning to England, Copeland worked as road manager for the progressive rock band Curved Air's 1974 reunion tour, and then as drummer for the band during 1975 and 1976. The band kicked off with a European tour, which started poorly.[11] Band leader Darryl Way, a notorious perfectionist,[12] grew impatient with the struggling of his bandmates, especially novice drummer Copeland.[11] Then, for reasons no one could pinpoint, the musicians suddenly "clicked" with each other and the band caught fire, quickly becoming a popular and acclaimed live act.[11]
Eventually, Way left the band and after months of gradually losing steam, Curved Air broke up so quietly that, by singer Sonja Kristina's recollections, most of the music press wrote off the band's absence as a "sabbatical". Copeland formed the Police and Kristina and Way both pursued solo careers. Kristina and Copeland maintained the close personal relationship they'd formed while bandmates and were married in 1982.
The Police (1977–1986)
In early 1977, Copeland founded the Police with lead singer-bass guitarist
Copeland also recorded under the
In 1982, Copeland was involved in the production of a
The Rhythmatist record of 1985 was the result of a pilgrimage to Africa and its people, and it features local drums and percussion, with more drums, percussion, other musical instruments and occasional lead vocals added by Copeland. The album was the official soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which was co-written by Stewart. Copeland is seen in the film playing the drums in a cage with lions surrounding him. The band attempted a reunion in 1986, but the project fell apart.[13]
Solo projects and movie soundtracks (1987–1998)
After the Police disbanded, Copeland established a career composing soundtracks for movies (
Copeland also occasionally played drums for other artists. Peter Gabriel employed Copeland to perform on his song "Red Rain" from his 1986 album So because of his "hi-hat mastery".[1] He has also performed with Mike Rutherford and Tom Waits. That year he also teamed with Adam Ant to record the title track and video for the Anthony Michael Hall movie Out of Bounds. In 1989, Copeland formed Animal Logic with jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and singer-songwriter Deborah Holland. The trio had success with their first album and world tour but the follow-up recording sold poorly, and the band did not continue.[citation needed]
In 1993 he composed the music for Channel 4's Horse Opera and director Bob Baldwin, and in 1999, he provided the voice of an additional American soldier in the animated musical comedy war film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).[citation needed]
Spyro the Dragon soundtracks (1998–2002, 2018)
He was commissioned by
This period also saw Copeland compose the soundtrack for Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, his only video game soundtrack outside of the Spyro franchise to date. In 2000, he combined with Les Claypool of Primus (with whom he produced a track on the Primus album Antipop) and Trey Anastasio of Phish to create the band Oysterhead. That same year, he was approached by director Adam Collis to assemble the score for the film Sunset Strip.
Collaborations (2002–2006)
In 2002, Copeland was hired by Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of the Doors to play with them for a new album and tour, but the tour was cut short.[21]
In 2005, Copeland released "Orchestralli", a live recording of chamber ensemble music which he had composed during a short tour of Italy in 2002. Also in 2005, Copeland started
The Police reunion (2007–2008)
At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Copeland, Andy Summers and Sting performed the song "Roxanne" together again as the Police. This marked the band's first public performance since 1986 (they had previously reunited only for an improvised set at Sting's wedding party in 1992 and for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003). One day later, the band announced that in celebration of the Police's 30th anniversary, they would be embarking on what turned out to be a one-off reunion tour on May 28, 2007. During the tour, Copeland also released his compilation album The Stewart Copeland Anthology, which was composed of his independent work.
In 2007, the French government appointed Copeland (along with Police bandmates Summers and Sting) a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.[22]
The group performed 151 dates across five continents, concluding with a final show in August 2008 at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Projects (2008–present)
In 2008,
In March 2008, he premiered his orchestral composition "Celeste" at "An Evening with Stewart Copeland", part of the
On August 21, 2009, at SummerFest 2009, Copeland unveiled the composition "Retail Therapy", which was commissioned by the Music Society. He performed three more original works: "Kaya", "Celeste", and "Gene Pool", the last accompanied by San Diego-based percussion ensemble red fish blue fish.
On May 24, 2011, he started a YouTube channel devoted to his videos and project updates.[28] On this channel, he uploads performances with various musicians, including Primus, Andy Summers, Jeff Lynne, Snoop Dogg, and others in his home studio, which he refers to as the Sacred Grove. On August 24, 2011, he was a featured soloist on the Late Show with David Letterman, as part of their second "Drum Solo Week".
On January 10, 2012, he appeared on an episode of the A&E reality series Storage Wars to appraise a drum set for Barry Weiss, buying a Turkish cymbal from the set for $40. In July he reunited with former Animal Logic bandmate Stanley Clarke for a European tour.
In May 2013, he and the Long Beach Opera premiered The Tale Tell Heart, an opera based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe.[29]
On November 26, 2013, he appeared in the first episode of The Tim Ferriss Experiment.[30]
In 2017, he formed the supergroup Gizmodrome with Adrian Belew, Vittorio Cosma, and Mark King and released an album of the same name.[31]
On September 5, 2021, the opera Electric Saint about the life of Nikola Tesla by Copeland with libretto by Jonathan Moore premiered at the National Theater of Weimar.[34][35]
On February 6, 2023, the album Divine Tides brought Copeland his seventh Grammy Award and Ricky Kej his third Grammy Award in the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Immersive Audio Album.[36]
Personal life
In 1974, Copeland became romantically involved with Curved Air vocalist Sonja Kristina, and they were married from 1982 to 1991.[37][38] He adopted her son from a previous relationship, and they had two sons of their own.[38][39] In 1981, he fathered a son with Irish author Desmond Guinness' daughter Marina.[38][40][41] He currently lives in Los Angeles with his second wife, with whom he has three children.[38][42]
Copeland's hobbies include rollerskating, cycling along the beach in Santa Monica, filmmaking, and playing polo.[38] He is also active on his YouTube channel, where he uploads videos of himself and other musicians during jam sessions in his studio, the Sacred Grove.[43][44]
Drumming style
Copeland grew up listening to a combination of Lebanese music, rock and roll, jazz, and reggae, but he selected from these styles what he needed rather than imitating them. In the 1980s, when many musicians were looking for bigger sound from bigger drums, he added Octobans. Invented by Tama Drums in 1978, Octobans consisted of eight six-inch drums in the shape of narrow tubes. He used another innovation, a splash cymbal based on a toy that he owned and that he helped Paiste design. He relied heavily on his 13" hi-hats.[45]
Despite being left-handed, Copeland plays a right-handed drum kit, placing the hi-hats on his left and
In an interview with
He is noted for his strong emphasis on the
Equipment
Copeland's equipment includes Tama drums, Paiste cymbals, Remo drum heads, and Vater signature drum sticks.[45]
Original live kit set-up (1984)
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The Police Reunion (2007–2008) tour kit
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Discography
Studio albums
- 1980: Klark Kent: Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid (as Klark Kent)
- 1983: Rumble Fish (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- 1985: The Rhythmatist
- 1986: Wall Street / Salvador (Original Motion Picture Soundtracks)
- 1988: The Equalizer and Other Cliff Hangers
- 1990: Noah's Ark (Audiobook, with James Earl Jones)
- 1994: Silent Fall Motion Picture Soundtrack
- 1994: Rapa Nui (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- 1995: Kollected Works (as Klark Kent)
- 1996: The Leopard Son
- 1997: Four Days In September (Music From The Miramax Motion Picture)
- 1998: Little Boy Blue
- 1999: Simpatico (Music From The Motion Picture)
- 2004: Orchestralli (Live album)
- 2004: La Notte della Taranta
- 2007: The Stewart Copeland Anthology (Compilation)
- 2009: Music From Ben Hur Live
- 2010: Dead Like Me (Original MGM Television Soundtrack)
- 2022: Spyro
- 2023: Police Deranged for Orchestra
- 2023: Klark Kent Deluxe Edition (as Klark Kent)
Curved Air
- 1975: Midnight Wire
- 1976: Airborne
The Police
- Outlandos d'Amour (1978)
- Reggatta de Blanc (1979)
- Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
- Ghost in the Machine (1981)
- Synchronicity (1983)
Collaborations
- 1977: Strontium 90: Police Academy by Strontium 90
- 1982: Acting Very Strange by Mike Rutherford
- 1986: So by Peter Gabriel
- 1989: Mr. Doubles by Moon on the Water
- 1989: Animal Logic by Animal Logic
- 1991: Animal Logic II by Animal Logic
- 2001: The Grand Pecking Order by Oysterhead
- 2005: Crossing Times And Continents by Eberhard Schoener & Friends - With Sting and Andy Summers
- 2017: Gizmodrome by Gizmodrome
- 2021: Gizmodrome Live by Gizmodrome
- 2021: Divine Tides with Ricky Kej
- 2023: Police Beyond Borders with Ricky Kej
Film scores
TV series
Title | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|
The Young Ones | 1984 | 1 episode (" Cash "). Appears as a member of Ken Bishop's Nice Twelve.
|
The Equalizer | 1985 | |
Star Wars: Droids | Theme music only, co-written with Derek Holt | |
Shalom Salaam | 1989 | Miniseries |
Long Ago and Far Away | 1 episode ("Noah's Ark"), was also released as an audiobook. | |
Babylon 5 | 1994 | Pilot only |
Insiders | 1997 | Miniseries |
The Amanda Show | 1999-2002 | |
Brutally Normal | 2000 | |
Breaking News | 2002 | |
Dead Like Me | 2003–2004 | |
Desperate Housewives | 2004 | 1 episode ("Who's That Woman?") |
The Life and Times of Juniper Lee | 2005–2007 | Co-wrote theme music with Rob Cuariclia, David Lehner and Rob Lehner |
Amas de Casa Desesperadas | 2008 | 1 episode ("¿Quién es esa mujer?") |
Stewart Copeland's Adventures in Music | 2020 | TV mini-series, presenter |
Video games
Title | Year | Developer(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Urban Strike | 1994 | Granite Bay Software, The Edge, Foley Hi-Tech | Special thanks |
Spyro the Dragon | 1998 | Insomniac Games | |
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! | 1999 | ||
Spyro: Year of the Dragon | 2000 | With Ryan Beveridge | |
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare | 2001 | Darkworks | With Thierry Desseaux |
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly | 2002 | Check Six Studios, Equinoxe Digital Entertainment | With Peter Neff and Kenneth Burgomaster |
Guitar Hero: World Tour |
2009 | Neversoft | Music thanks |
Spyro Reignited Trilogy | 2018 | Toys for Bob | Original music, main theme, assisted with remastered tracks[47] |
See also
- List of drummers
- Membranophone (list of drums)
References
- ^ MusicRadar. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time". Rolling Stone. March 31, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ^ "The arresting case of The Police". BBC News. January 30, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ "Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014". Modern Drummer. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland Hall of Fame Induction". Classic Drummer. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- ^ "Film: "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out"". Washingtonpost.com. January 26, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
Stewart Copeland: I was born in Alexandria (Va., not Egypt).
- Beirut, Lebanon. In this Middle Eastern city on the Mediterranean, Stewart grew up...
- OCLC 21874352.
Later, I was one of the 200 employees who were on the original list of career members when the CIA became official in July 1974.
- ^ Schor, Elana (August 14, 2008). "Celebrity spies revealed – new details of Julia Child's pre-chef career released". The Guardian. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
[Julia Child's] fellow spies included professional baseball player Moe Berg, US supreme court justice Arthur Goldberg and Miles Copeland, the father of The Police drummer Stewart Copeland.
- ^ a b Pukas, Anna (May 27, 2014). "I wish I'd been nicer to Sting: Stewart Copeland talks about life after The Police". Daily Express. London, UK. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-906071-66-6. Pages 15–16.
- ^ Welch, Chris (1973). In Canis Lupus [sleeve notes].
- ^ "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86, 12" by The Police – Music and Lyrics". The Police Official Website. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland". Stewartcopeland.net. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Lyons, Timothy (October 1, 1996). "'The Leopard Son' from the Discovery Channel: From the Theatre to Cable". International Documentary Association. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
On September 27th, in movie theatres across the country, Discovery Channel Pictures opened its first commercially-released full-length 35mm feature film, The Leopard Son.
- ^ Bennett, Tara (November 2018). "LEGENDARY MUSICIAN STEWART COPELAND REVISITS HIS CLASSIC VIDEO GAME SCORE FOR THE SPYRO REIGNITED TRILOGY". Syfy. Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^ "Universal Announces Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly". IGN. February 19, 2002. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "C7164710 | Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly Official Soundtrack". VGMdb.net. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
This CD was included in limited-edition game packages of "Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly" for Playstation 2
- ^ "Game Music Review: Spyro the Dragon II – Ripto's Rage (PSX Rip)". RPGamers Network. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
…this soundtrack is great, highly effective for the game, and an all-around joy to listen to.
- ^ Fogel, Stefanie (July 19, 2018). "The Police's Copeland Composes New 'Spyro' Main Theme". Variety. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland Sues Surviving Doors". Billboard. March 12, 2003.
- ^ "Cérémonie de remise des insignes de Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres à Sting, Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers, du groupe The Police". Culture.gouv.fr. October 1, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland puts message in a bottle for BlackBerry Bold owners". Apcmag.com. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Review: Police's Stewart Copeland rocks SummerFest". Sdnn.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies". HarperCollins. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland Book Signing". Amoeba Music. October 8, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
- ^ "BBC Radio 3". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland". YouTube. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Swed, Mark (May 13, 2013). "Review: 'Van Gogh' and 'Tell-Tale Heart' have a crazy idea". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ "Premiere TV Episode! "The Tim Ferriss Experiment"". Fourhourweek. November 27, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Giles, Jeff (September 15, 2017). "Adrian Belew and Stewart Copeland Say New Gizmodrome Band Project Was an 'Immediate Lovefest'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
- ^ "Home". divinetidesmusic.com.
- ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List".
- ^ "Electric Saint". nationaltheater-weimar.de.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland: ELECTRIC SAINT - 5 SEPTEMBER 2021, WEIMAR". www.stewartcopeland.net.
- ^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: The Complete Winners & Nominees List". www.grammy.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ^ James, Billy (May 2008). "Interview: Sonja Kristina". Get Ready to ROCK!. hotdigitsnewmedia group.
- ^ a b c d e Copeland, Stewart (2009). Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies. HarperCollins.
- ^ Pearce, Garth (August 18, 1983). "Shea, yeah, yeah...". The Daily Express.
- ^ Daly, Susan (July 19, 2008). "Bohemian rhapsody: Marina Guinness and Kila". Irish Independent.
- ^ Ross, Seamus (March 16, 2008). "Talent on Tap". Sunday Mirror.
- ^ "Archived copy". www.myheritage.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Prato, Greg (September 8, 2012). "Stewart Copeland Documents All-Star Jams on YouTube". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
…his main focus nowadays is his own YouTube channel, which features jam sessions between Copeland and some very recognizable names.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland". YouTube. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
Wild Jams at the Sacred Grove: My rock star chums come here to hang and play live music.
- ^ a b Natelli, John (November 1, 2012). "10 Ways To Sound Like Stewart Copeland". DRUM! Magazine. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
- ^ "Stewart Copeland Interviews". Bishop's Drum Shop & Advanced DJ Service. Effingham, Illinois. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ Wade, Jessie (July 19, 2018). "STEWART COPELAND RETURNS FOR SPYRO REIGNITED TRILOGY AT COMIC-CON 2018". IGN. ign.com. Retrieved July 19, 2018.